


Eclipse

by sappedsoliloquist



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games), QMAU - Fandom
Genre: ANGST TIME, Alternate Universe - Queen Mother (Hollow Knight), Body Horror, Sort of? - Freeform, it ends well dont worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 21:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21083132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sappedsoliloquist/pseuds/sappedsoliloquist
Summary: Backstory for the Princess Clutch.





	Eclipse

_ Crack._

_ Crack._

_ Crack._

The vessel sighed, slumping against the side of her egg. _ Why did breaking out have to be so much work? _ She could see through the breaks in the wall, wasn’t that enough to shatter it? Just as she was about to give up, the shell of the egg shifted.

She moved to push it again, prepared for resistance, and jumped in surprise as everything came apart. Liquid void oozed onto the ground, and the vessel fell down in exhaustion.

Out of nowhere, she felt crowded in. She didn’t know where she was, but she could tell it was _ teeming _ with those of a similar nature to her. She pulled her mental presence in, overwhelmed. The air was cool against her shell, the puddle of void she laid in even colder.

She barely noticed a flicker of white in the corner of her vision.

Pushing a piece of eggshell out of the way, she watched her sibling. _ Her sibling? _ Yes, her sibling. Her clutchmate. Somehow she _ knew _. She watched her sibling glance at her and nod before walking out of view.

_ Why would she leave? Was she abandoning her? No.. She waited. Waited for her to hatch. She checked to make sure she was safe. Surely she would be back. Yes, that made sense._

The vessel groaned without a voice, weakly reaching against a reassuring mental touch. _ From her clutchmate. Yes. All would be well. _ The soft presence disappeared, fading away. Her clutchmate was gone.

She laid back down, relaxing, the bits of broken egg a makeshift blanket that sheltered her from whatever lay outside. Outside her egg…. _ Egg…. Surely there would be others? Yes, other siblings. Other clutchmates._

As if on cue, she heard a tap tap tapping sound.

_ Crk._

It was muffled but very clearly there.

_ Crk._

Somewhere close by.

_ Crrk._

The vessel dragged herself into a sitting position.

_ Crack!_

She got up quickly, shoving her eggshell aside.

_ Fwump._

The newly hatched clutchmate fell right into her arms.

Her shell glowed white with soul, only a patch on her chest matching the solid color of the vessel whose arms she laid in.

The first vessel reached out again, tentatively, feeling for this new sibling's mind. It burned brightly in the darkness, brighter, brighter, _ brighter _.

_ Pain _ seared through their mental bond, enough to make her drop her newborn clutchmate.

She gasped, both from the suddenness and the sight of her clutchmate convulsing on the ground. The little vessel on the ground coughed, tiny fingers grabbing at anything, grabbing at nothing.

She took the trembling hands, concerned, worried, terrified. That same _ pain _ from before flared up again, even though her mental presence was withdrawn, and she let go as though she were burned.

The little clutchmate’s mind calmed, if only by a little. It wasn't as bright as before, previous glow muffled by _ something,_ it was impossible to tell what.

The smaller vessel began to cough more violently, and for a moment it seemed as though her very body seemed to become less solid. With each _ hack _, her shell spasmed and seemed to be melting.

The first vessel panicked, scooping at broken bits of soul shell and trying to push them back together. But with each touch her clutchmate's condition worsened. That bright shining mind was growing dimmer and dimmer.

Void, the only void she'd seen aside from that small chest patch, poured from the eye holes in the little calico's mask.

_ Too much void and yet not enough._

She stepped back, watching in horror as the little vessel seemed to deflate.

She reached out mentally, that bright mind now only a flicker, a single lumafly in a world of inky black.

Snuffed out.

The calico stopped moving, all that was left was a void stained mask and a puddle of liquid soul.

The first vessel moved to pick up the mask, to brush away the void in respect for her dead sibling, but got distracted by that telltale cracking sound.

_ Crk._

She turned, the empty mask forgotten.

_ Crk._

Hopefully this hatching would go better.

_ Crrk._

She didn’t know what she’d do if another clutchmate died in her hands.

_ Crack!_

Should she catch them? Would her touch hurt this one?

_ Fwump._

Ah, too late to be careful.

Another calico, around the same size as the other one. But this one had a fairly even split between black and white. Was that a good sign?

She didn’t seem to be in any pain, that was obvious enough. In fact, if anything, she seemed to cuddle up closer to the vessel that had caught her.

The first vessel reached out mentally, tentative.

A mind close by brushed against her own. Bright and healthy, if a little sluggish. The little one in her lap.

The mental presence dimmed a little, but only infinitesimally. She was asleep.

Her shell was fine, breathing even.

_ Yes. All would be well._

The first vessel suddenly awoke from the stupor she’d drifted off to when she heard a crash. Somewhere far away, far above.

She craned her head upwards.

[“What a brilliant light.”]

“Brill……...yunt.”

The little calico in her lap stirred.

“Such a pretty...” _ Yawn. _ “...Word.”

[“You like it…? It suits you.”] She traced the bright white plates of her clutchmates shell, up to where they connected to inky black.

“Me…. Brill?”

The first vessel nodded. [“Yes, you. Brill. It’s a pretty name, don’t you think?”]

“.....Brill!” The calico nodded eagerly, long tail wagging happily. “Your name….” She paused to yawn again, shaking her head as if to ward off a trance. “Your name…. Prim?”

[“Prim?”] She tilted her head, confused. _ Where had that come from?_

“Prim! Prim!” Brill hopped off of her lap to dance around happily. “Dunno what it means! But! It’s your name! I saw it! In a dream!”

[“Um, Brill, be careful...”]

Prim got up to steady Brill just a moment too late. The calico tripped over that empty mask from before.

“Oof!” She fell into a heap, splashing in the puddle of void.

[“Oh dear..”]

“Hey! Who’s this, who’s this?” Brill ran in circles around the mask, tail wagging every which way and sloshing liquid void everywhere. “A sibling, right? Am I right?”

[“Nn… Um.”] Prim stepped over, into Brill’s path, and grunted as the calico barreled right into her.

“Oof!”

_ Crack!_

The mask shattered as they fell onto it.

“Oh! Not a sibling?” The calico pushed Prim off of it, looking at the shards.

[“Oh no…”]

“Did...” Brill looked more contemplative, wide eyes searching Prim’s. “Did I do something wrong?”

[“Nn… No…..”] She slowly pulled Brill into a hug. [“You’re okay. Just… Stay okay. Please.”]

“Mmhmph.” Whatever she tried to say was muffled, but the wagging of her tail showed her emotions clearly. “Mmphgmmfoo.”

[“I love you too.”] Prim patted her back gently.

That sibling, that clutchmate from before, the very first one, walked back up. Or ran, more accurately.

“What are you guys waiting for? Mom’s here!” She pointed upwards, to where that bright light had come from. “There are siblings that need help getting up there!”

“Sibling!” Brill had somehow wormed out of her sister’s grasp to jump right at the other one. “Bye bye Flicker!” She waved to the broken mask shards before running off.

Prim got up more slowly, looking around past her clutch’s eggs for the very first time. [“I can help… I will help.”]

_ She would help as many siblings as she could, to honor the one she could not help._

_ Flicker... _

**Author's Note:**

> More QMAU content?? You betcha! Featuring vessels this time! Dahlia isn't mine but the others are. Same goes for the art.
> 
> Visual refs:  
[Prim](https://i.imgur.com/LeE7kVF.png)  
[Brill](https://i.imgur.com/C5F4hko.png)  
[Flicker](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/563744888529747978/634455929206734939/flicker.PNG)  
[Dahlia](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/608838869793898497/634440367948955654/image0.jpg)


End file.
